Polycom recently (at the end of April) published the results of a study on the topic of flexible work, a subject of clear interest for the company but also for our readers.
\nIt is a growing trend\u2014not just as a personal choice, where context allows it, but as a company project executed on a large scale\u2014and it is here that technology can offer the best contribution, simultaneously representing a work opportunity for designers and integrators.<\/p>\n
But going back to the study, conducted by Maror Consulting at the end of 2016 in 12 countries and including 25,000 users, it highlights the idea that so-called \u201csmart working\u201d seems to be a need of workers themselves, but it could also bring (and, in many cases, already brings) a benefit to the company in terms of work performance efficiency\u2014performance no longer \u201cquantified\u201d in terms of hours, but of goals and yield.
\nThus, the emergence of three key trends in the survey is no surprise: 98% agree on the fact that a flexible approach to work increases productivity, allowing people to work where they feel most efficient; 92% agree that video collaboration technology improves group work, maintaining the interaction between people who are sometimes missing since they work remotely; and, finally, the survey reveals that 62% of workers already work flexibly. The digital transformation thus seems to play an important, active role, and offers companies the opportunity to explore new methods and find new work agreements and ethics with collaborators, including that of a better balance between private and work life.
\n\u201cThere is a false belief that remote workers are disconnected from the rest of the team. This study demonstrates that these workers are actually more social and proactive in developing strong relationships. New technological instruments that allow communication and collaboration are indeed useful for motivating workers to pick up the phone, seek out direct meetings and create long-lasting ties. This is the positive side of remote working that is rarely mentioned,\u201d comments Jeanne Meister, Partner at Future Workplace.<\/p>\n